


Luck Runs Out

by california_112



Category: Hut 33
Genre: Episode: S03E05 Unlucky For Some, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:15:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27606820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/california_112/pseuds/california_112
Summary: "I think I'll take the window for good luck." Charles said, leaping towards it.Archie barely had time to cry out before Charles launched himself through the glass, disappearing in a shower of silver slivers. A moment later, there was a massive explosion, the hut filled with light and sound. Archie was flung back, but never felt himself hit the floor.-or-A direct tie in to the grenade explosion- not everyone was unscathed.SPOILERS FOR S03E05 'UNLUCKY FOR SOME'





	Luck Runs Out

"Nothing else is going to happen."

Archie tried to staunch his bleeding hand and give his co-workers a hard stare, and it wasn't working. Just as Charles rolled his eyes, a plaintive miaow drifted upwards, and everyone turned their attention to the black feline staring up at them.

"Oh, look," Minka exclaimed, "the cat wants to play pin the pin in the grenade!"

"Yes, he has the pin in his mouth." Charles said humorously- then realised the implications of his words.

Gordon's eyes widened. "Where's the grenade?"

"Oh, I not know." Minka shrugged.

"How long has he had the pin?" the young mathematician pressed, half standing up.

"I also not know."

There was a moment of silence before Archie spoke, backing away as he did so. "In which case, I suggest that we make our way quietly to the exit, in an orderly fashion-"

"I think I'll take the window for good luck." Charles said, leaping towards it.

Archie barely had time to cry out before Charles launched himself through the glass, disappearing in a shower of silver slivers. A moment later, there was a massive explosion, the hut filled with light and sound. Archie was flung back, but never felt himself hit the floor.

* * *

Charles was trying to roll out of the remains of the window in the least harmful way possible when the grenade went off, and he found himself in a hail of splinters and flecks of metal, watching them hit the ground in silence. The only thing he could hear was a high whine, though he could see quite clearly- he could see that there wasn't any movement coming from the hut. Suddenly, inexplicably, he was incredibly worried, and staggered upright with some abandon.

"Archie?" He called, his own voice sounding distant and distorted, "Gordon? Minka?"

To his relief, a voice replied. "Minka here." The Polish secretary was sitting up, looking miserable but mostly unhurt. "My lucky grenade."

"Shut up about your blessed bomb and help me find the others." Charles snapped, not in the mood for jokes.

He climbed through the large hole in the wall where the window had once been and pulled Minka to her feet with a little difficulty, then they both looked around. The middle section of the hut was missing one wall and part of the roof, and the walls and furniture were blackened. Desks and chairs were overturned, with papers and books rustling in the wind. Suddenly, Josh stood up, appearing from behind a table.

"Gosh, that was loud, wasn't it?" he said, dusting off his uniform, "Is everyone alright?"

"There's no sign of Archie or Gordon." Charles replied, noting that his own voice sounded almost normal again.

"What's happened to the hut?" Josh continued, moving around, "I didn't know that _sound_ was destructive."

Charles sighed, cursing that he had to work with such incompetents. "That sound was a grenade going off, Josh, we were lucky not to be killed."

"I found Gordon," Minka broke in, and both men turned to see their young friend supported in her arms, "he knocked out."

The Professor flinched involuntarily- there was no blood, but seeing someone so still was unnatural. Josh interrupted his thoughts, apparently having understood the situation.

"I must report this to the Colonel, it's a terrible disaster."

"Yes." Charles agreed. "And…bring back a first aid kit. And some water."

"Right you are."

As Josh opened the door, Charles caught a glimpse of a crowd gathered outside, peering in and wondering what was going on, before it closed again. Now he listened, through the weakening white noise in his ears, there was a gentle background chatter of onlookers. He heard Josh speaking indistinctly, then this subsided, returning the hut to almost quiet.

Moving in the direction that he last remembered Archie going in, Charles scoured the ground for his- well, not exactly his friend. They had both wished each other dead more times than anyone could count, and their animosity was certainly genuine, but now that the man had disappeared, Charles felt oddly…worried. He never thought he would be saying that about his Marxist hut-mate, but there it was.

No sooner had he come to that realisation than he spotted the familiar reddish-brown hair, slightly singed by the blast and half-hidden by a ream of decrypt papers which had burst out of their file. As Charles started to sweep these out of the way, the hair shifted, and a pair of eyes turned their confused gaze on the professor.

"Hello, Archie," Charles said, unsure of what else to say, "how are you?"

He hadn't meant it to sound like a formal greeting, but it ended up that way. Archie closed his eyes with a mixed feeling of pain and 'of course he would say that', propping himself up on an elbow.

"Surprisingly alright, for someone who was just blown up." he replied eventually, touching the back of his head experimentally.

"Shame." Charles said on impulse, but his expression said he didn't mean it.

Archie sat up, leaning forwards, and the professor caught sight of a growing lump on the back of the mathematician's head. Archie repressed the urge to be sick. "The others?"

"Gordon was knocked out," Charles said, feeling suddenly very awkward and unsure of what to do, "Minka's looking after him. Josh went to tell the Colonel and get a first aid kit."

"And you?"

Charles glanced down and realised that he was being stared at, but there was none of the usual hostility. "Never better." He pulled Archie to his feet then watched as he struggled to balance, eyes half-closed.

"Archie, I-"

"Here we are, sir," Josh interrupted, opening the door with a bang, "this is where it happened."

"That much, I can see." The Colonel surveyed the damage, taking in the two damaged mathematicians, slightly guilty secretary, and glass-covered linguist. "Well, you'll have to use another hut. You four wait outside, I need to speak to Fanshawe-Marshall."

Archie immediately lurched for the door, and Charles resisted the temptation to steady him. Minka carried Gordon outside wholesale, reminding all of them of his condition.

"He still hasn't come round?" Charles asked, and Archie knelt beside him.

"He's had a knock to the head, same as me," he pronounced, "he'll be alright."

"Pass me first aid kit," Minka requested, voice a little softer than usual, "I help him."

The two men watched as their secretary removed the smelling salts from the cloth bag and wafted them under Gordon's nose, and a moment later his eyes flew open as he turned away from the pungent fumes. His eyes alighted on Charles first, then Archie's growing grin, and finally Minka. He looked confused.

"What happened?"

"My lucky grenade…" Minka began wistfully, but she was quickly overrun by Charles.

"Minka's personal ordnance exploded. You and Archie were knocked out."

"Did you jump through a window?" Gordon asked incredulously as Minka helped him stand up.

"In the interests of self-preservation, yes. And as I am the most preserved one here, I think it was worth it."

"Oh, yeah, something which we can all be thankful for." Archie said, but his tone wasn't quite as sarcastic as usual.

Gordon narrowed his eyes, flicking between the pair of them, and was about to say something when Josh and the Colonel appeared. Josh looked almost bashful, and returned his superior's salute weakly before joining the team, leading them off down the path.

"The colonel is furious about the accident. It'll take days to repair Hut 33." He proclaimed gloomily.

"Well, if Archie will insist on behaving quite so stupidly-"

"Eh, I'm not the one with the 'lucky grenade'." Archie cut in, making Charles frown.

Gordon, his head still rocking, glanced between the two of them again before hiding a small smile. Whatever he had missed, he was certain it had changed something- and hopefully, for the better.

**Author's Note:**

> and then the death banter continues...theyre friends really
> 
> This is one of my favourite episodes, and though it's such a small fandom I just had to write this...a little rushed, and after many distractions, but hopefully it is enjoyed :)


End file.
